Despite the government's attempt over the years to popularize AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga or Naturopathy Unani, Siddha and homoeopathy), the people at large are still inclined towards allopathy treatment both in rural and urban India.

The NSSO survey has found higher inclination towards allopathy treatment-- around 90%--in both rural and urban areas. Only 5 to 7% usage of 'other' type of treatment including AYUSH has been reported both in rural and urban areas.

Interestingly, a higher usage (1.5 percentage point) of AYUSH treatment by urban males than their rural counterparts was noted, while less usage of the same (0.8 percentage point) by urban females as compared to rural females was observed.

The use of allopathy was also most prevalent in treating the hospitalized cases of ailments both in rural and urban settings of the country irrespective of gender. Surprisingly, use of AYUSH for hospitalized treatment in urban areas (0.8% for male and 1.2% for female) was more than rural areas (0.4% for male and 0.3% for female).

Moreover, un-treated spell was higher in rural (both for male and female) than urban.

The relationship between the percentages of un-treated spells of ailments and level of living was also revealed. Untreated spell was less in those with usually higher monthly per capital expenditure for both rural and urban sector.

The survey found that private doctors were the most important single source of treatment in both rural and urban areas.

More than 70% (72% in rural areas and 79% in urban areas) spells of ailment were treated in the private sector, consisting of private doctors, nursing homes, private hospitals and charitable institutions. The number of people reporting sick is more in urban India compared to rural areas, founds the survey. During a 15-day reference period, 89 of every 1,000 persons—Proportion of Ailing Persons (PAP)—reported an illness in rural India, against 118 persons in urban areas.

Though the number of people in need of treatment is lesser in rural India, the untreated spell was higher in rural areas.

The survey conducted from January to June 2014 was aimed at generating basic quantitative information on the health sector. Considering medical treatment of an ailing person as someone who was an in-patient in any medical institution, the survey found that in the urban population 4.4% were hospitalized at some time during a reference period of one year while this ratio was 3.5% in rural India.

In rural India, 42% of hospitalized treatment was carried out in public hospitals. In urban India, the corresponding figure were 32%.

Since both rural and urban India depended on private hospitals for treatment, their spending for hospitalization was also higher. The average cost of treatment in a private hospital was Rs 25,850 as compared to Rs 6,120 charged in a public hospital.

The highest expenditure was recorded for treatment of cancer (Rs 56,712), followed by that for cardiovascular diseases (Rs 31,647). Average medical expenditure per non-hospitalization case was Rs 509 in rural India and Rs 639 in urban India.

In my experience Ayurveda has some uses . Some ailments like joint pains and cold can be cured by ayurveda---that too without side effects that you experience in allopathy .

But ayurveda and other forms of medicine are useless in treating major life threatening infections like gastroenteritis , typhoid , plague , malaria , tuberculosis , cholera etc . That's what gives allopathy the advantage over other forms of medicine .

Methinks
Ayurveda could be good for wellness, prevent diseases or for minor cases like stomach ache, but in terms of treatment for really sick, only allopathy works if by a competent doc.

i have no faith in Homeopathy and only thing i know about Unani is Rooh afza.

One example of my elder one. Since a few months old, he was always having dry skin which used to get very bad some times. Our pediatrician in Hyd referred to a dermatologist who told it is genetic dry skin (i also have it). But his case got bad on a few days. Better half tried Homeopathy for a year but did not work at all. Finally a Desi Pediatrician in LA, sensed that he had some allergies and referred him to an allergy specialist. Allergy specialist finally came up with what the boy was allergic to and advised us to keep him away from those. he also gave some crams for relief but advised us to minimize their use. The kid ultimately got better,

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This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends,only permanent interests. - Some Firang

In my experience Ayurveda has some uses . Some ailments like joint pains and cold can be cured by ayurveda---that too without side effects that you experience in allopathy .

But ayurveda and other forms of medicine are useless in treating major life threatening infections like gastroenteritis , typhoid , plague , malaria , tuberculosis , cholera etc . That's what gives allopathy the advantage over other forms of medicine .

Missed this next to your original post. But that is what i said in a bit more detail in my post.

Many of the docs i met do not push medicines and try to reduce their use. Like my doc in Hyd told me to cycle and reduce my dosage of BP tablets. i did ultimately halve the dosage between 2008 and 2010, but it is the same since then.

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This is quite a game, politics. There are no permanent enemies, and no permanent friends,only permanent interests. - Some Firang